2019 Draw: Friday Night Footy to kick off 2019 in Canberra

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The Canberra Raiders will begin their 2019 home season at GIO Stadium with back-to-back Friday night games against the Melbourne Storm and Newcastle Knights.

The 2019 NRL draw has been released, with the Raiders securing a home draw full of family-friendly timeslots, which is sure to drive big crowds at GIO Stadium in 2019.

The Raiders will start their 2019 season on the Gold Coast in round one, before returning home to Canberra in round two for a blockbuster Friday night fixture against the Melbourne Storm on March 22 at 6.00pm. They will then follow it up with a second Friday night match against the Newcastle Knights in round three on March 29 at 6.00pm.

In the first six rounds, the Green Machine will play four times in Canberra, with two Sunday matches against the Eels in round 5 (Sunday 6.10pm) and Broncos (Sunday 4.05pm) to follow the two Friday night fixtures.

During the course of the season the Raiders will play five of their remaining 11 matches at GIO Stadium in afternoon timeslots on either Saturday or Sunday, with an additional Thursday night match against the Sharks (Rd14) and a Saturday night match against the Rabbitohs (Rd10).

As previously announced, the Raiders will be playing one home match in Wagga Wagga this season on Saturday May 4 at 3.00pm, with Penrith confirmed as the team to take on the Green Machine in the Riverina.

With the club now having received the NRL season fixture, discussions will be had with the NSWRL to determine which games the Raiders under 20s Jersey Flegg team will align to matches at GIO Stadium featuring the NRL team.